Core Insights - Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) stock fell 5.8% despite pre-announcing a sales beat for Q4, with expected sales of $2.9 billion compared to analyst expectations of $2.7 billion [1][8] Sales and Earnings Performance - Surgical procedures using Intuitive's da Vinci and Ion bronchoscopy robots increased by 18% in Q4, with Ion showing a significant growth of 44% year over year [3] - For the full year of 2025, procedure growth was 19%, indicating a slowdown from the quarterly growth rate [3] - Management forecasts a further slowdown in worldwide procedure growth to 13% to 15% for 2026 [3] Revenue Growth - Intuitive reported a revenue growth of 19% in Q4 2025 and 21% for the entire year [3] - The placements of da Vinci robots at hospitals grew by 8% in Q4 and 13% for the year, highlighting a disparity between procedure growth and robot placements [4] Earnings Expectations - The official earnings report is expected on January 22, with analysts predicting a pro forma per-share profit of $2.25 and a GAAP profit of $1.95 per share [5] - The projected GAAP profit for the year is $7.48, resulting in a P/E ratio of 71, which is considered high given the slowing growth [6] Investment Considerations - Analysts from The Motley Fool Stock Advisor have identified 10 stocks they believe are better investment opportunities than Intuitive Surgical [7]